§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Prime Minister what is his policy for responding to letters received in the(a) Scottish Gaelic, (b) Welsh, (c) Urdu, (d) Hindi and (e) Chinese language. [28052]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 10 February 1998]: Normal practice under this and previous Administrations has been to refer letters to the relevant Department for reply. This means that such correspondence would be responded to in accordance with standard Departmental practice. If a Prime Ministerial reply were warranted, replies would usually be sent in the English language, with a translation if practicable.